One hundred and sixty-three people will be out of work once the company more popularly known as Hidden Hitch closes its doors by the end of this year.

But company officials are remaining tight-lipped as to how and when the final layoffs will occur.

Cequent Towing Products announced Thursday that it will shut down its Huntsville plant by the end of December. The plant manufactures automotive aftermarket trailer hitches.

“We regret having to close our Huntsville facility because of the long-standing and excellent relationship we have had with our employees and the Huntsville community,” said Cequent group president Edward L.  Schwartz. “The decision to close this facility is the result of our improvements and the continued rationalization of our available manufacturing and distribution capacity to accelerate our cost competitiveness and to better serve the needs of our customers. We have implemented a number of productivity initiatives and operational improvements over the last two years that will allow us to seamlessly consolidate the Huntsville plant operations into our Goshen, Indiana facility, which has state-of-the-art automation and paint capabilities.”

He said the company has been aggressively expanding the sourcing of high-volume products, which no longer require North American manufacturing capability.

Algonquin Automotive first owned the company until 2001, when Algonquin sold Hidden Hitch to the HammerBlow Corporation. Two years later, HammerBlow, including Hidden Hitch, was sold to Cequent, a subsidiary of the TriMas Corporation based out of Plymouth, Michigan for $142 million.

Employees were told the news of the closure last Wednesday. However, more details about the closure are not forthcoming from the company or its public relations firm.

Calls to TriMas and Cequent representatives were not returned as of press time. A list of questions regarding layoff dates, the plant’s future and employee severance packages were forwarded to Eric Younan of Marx Layne and Company, a Michigan-based marketing and public relations agency.

In his reply, Younan stated that TriMas has 11 companies and has only a few authorized spokespeople. “The questions you asked regarding employees are very granular and, as a matter of policy, TriMas typically does not disclose specific personal information regarding employee agreements and compensation.

“The press release distributed on Oct. 4 contains all pertinent information regarding the plant closing and all information that will be released. This is all we can offer you at this time,” he said.

This isn’t the first time the Huntsville plant has experienced layoffs. In May 2005, Cequent laid off 45 employees.

That same year, the company announced on Sept.12 that its Huntsville manufacturing centre had been awarded a $1-million (US) investment for three significant renovations at the plant.

The project focused on renovating the existing paint system, purchasing and installing a new laser metal cutter and implementing significant upgrades to the business process and computer systems.

The company says that the closure is expected to result in annual pre-tax savings in the range of $2-3 million. TriMas will record an estimated pre-tax charge of approximately $11 million, of which $10 million will be recognized in the fourth quarter of 2007, when management approved this action. The remaining amount will be recognized in 2008. Approximately $4 million of the fourth quarter 2007 charge will represent non-cash charges related to accelerated depreciation on property and equipment.